And although the words scorched earth policy haven’t been used for a while, Merv’s vision is presumably the type of scenario they encapsulate. David Hale said Governor Mervyn King had said the budgetary measures necessary in the UK to sort out the (insert your own expletives) state of the public finances would keep whoever wins the next election “out of power for a whole generation”.

And there is no positive solution – so it’s a rock and a hard place for the next government:

CityAM: BNP Paribas’ senior currency strategist Ian Stannard said that the pound faced a no-win situation after the election regardless of the outcome and could slump to $1.47 in the event of a hung parliament.

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A green and pleasant land it won’t be.